Hennig chip conveyors on Niigata machining centers maintain efficiencies and production on ductile iron castings used in heavy truck and military drive train projects at Michigan shop

Machesney Park, Illinois – Accurate Gauge prides itself on the company motto that says, “The quality is not in the product, unless the quality is in the process.” As this busy Rochester Hills, Michigan machine shop can attest, the machining and assembly of large ductile iron castings into components for the heavy truck and military drive train markets is one that demands accuracy at every turn. Correspondingly, the heavy-duty manufacturing equipment here includes a line of Niigata SPN 701 horizontal machining centers (HMCs) with multiple pallets, used for machining very large, heavy workpieces with accuracy that ranks among the highest in the machine tool world market. As a result, Accurate boasts the industry leaders among its customers, including Meritor, Axle Alliance, Dana and Mack.

The shop machines over 98% of its workpieces from ductile iron and the iron sludge build-up in the coolant tank is an all too familiar problem for the production personnel. As Accurate’s engineering manager Mark Tario explains, “We approach every machine with a keen eye on machine uptime and an absolute ease of maintenance. We had experimented with other systems to handle cast ductile iron fines and knew their benefits as well as their shortcomings.” Mark notes the company had actually designed two systems in-house to improve the handling of chips and the cleaning of coolant. While the benefits had been appreciable, they felt there was still a shortfall and the team at Accurate began a systematic search for a better solution.

One of the potential vendors, Hennig, was an established force in the market, as the company’s chip conveyors and machine enclosures are found on many of the global machine tool builders’ equipment. A particular development from Hennig caught the attention of the team at Accurate, namely, a magnetic chip disc filtration system that represented a substantial improvement over the traditional drum screen filtration system used on most competing brands. The relative ease of changeover immediately impressed the Accurate engineers, both from the production and maintenance perspectives. As Mark explains, “Replacing the drum filter screens is not an easy task, in fact it can be downright miserable. The Hennig disc arrangement seemed to us a much easier system to operate and maintain. The incorporation of a rare earth drum & scraper assembly inside the conveyor appeared to be a great solution for minimizing the amount of cast iron fines reaching the coolant tank side of the system.” Mark notes the heavier-duty mechanical components and drive chains used on the Hennig conveyor were also impressive, providing a greater wear life and reduced downtime likelihood.

An initial order was placed with Hennig for four Chip Disc Filtration (CDF) conveyors to run in tandem with the Niigata machines. All electrical controls, coolant tanks, pumps and other hardware were provided by Hennig. Mark and his team worked closely with the Hennig mechanical and electrical engineers, as well as the Hennig’s local representative, John Kaczmarek of Marathon Industrial Sales in Sterling Heights, Michigan, to complete the first installation. “We have over 40 years of experience in what works and what doesn’t in the machining of cast iron, so we had a very defined list of needs in all facets of the design, electrical functions and the very important aspect of machine to auxiliary equipment communication,” Mark notes, adding that the worst scenario in the shop occurs when the machining center is working, but the chip conveyor is not.

Every aspect of the machine-to-conveyor connection was planned out by the Accurate team, including the layout of the coolant tank covers and the access ports. This attention to detail is something in which the company takes great pride. “The Hennig team was very good on this job and they realized that nothing less than their best efforts would satisfy us,” Tario notes.

Among the many issues Accurate had to overcome, downtime for maintenance was the most prominent. The machining of cast iron, by definition, creates considerable problems arising from the frequent need to replace conveyor chains, drum screens and other mechanical components that get infiltrated by the iron fines and literally lock up. The conveyor chains on the Hennig system, for example, were found stronger than the typical styles used on competing brands, which often required adjustments and repairs several times annually and were usually in need of total replacement, once a year. Depending on the severity of the repair or replacement operation, this situation resulted in many hours or even several days to rectify. Practically speaking, the maintenance personnel would get completely soaked and filthy with the coolant and sludge as a result.

On the Hennig CDF system, by contrast, the discs can be easily removed and cleaned on a workbench, rather than reaching through narrow access ports to wrestle with a drum style filter. According to Mark, this entire process is a two-hour operation at most. Simple screen replacements can be done in thirty minutes or less, he notes.

Another common problem for the maintenance personnel are coolant related failures. On the HMCs at Accurate, a substantial amount of “through the spindle coolant” is used to improve productivity. However, this generous use of coolant can create an immediate and dangerous problem, if the coolant runs low and the machine has no safeguard-warning device, especially when drilling and tapping. Nearly half the Accurate systems had no such devices originally, resulting in some damage conditions on the high-speed drills used here. A third of the later systems used at the company had a communication device to put the machine’s CNC into a single block state when the coolant tank ran low, but had no protection to shut off the pump to prevent dry running. Mark notes, “On our third generation systems, we changed from a diaphragm style pump to a screw pump, where dry running would be very bad, to say the least. With our fourth generation Hennig conveyors, however, we have all the protections of the previous generations plus all the necessary controls to shut down the pumps to prevent very costly system component damage.”

Accurate has already installed four Hennig systems, just received an additional three and has plans to purchase two more shortly, for a total of nine in the shop. All are connected to Niigata HMCs that have an opening in the back of the machine with a horseshoe-shaped channel where the conveyor fits. The overall machine size is 10’ wide by 30’ long.

Other Accurate personnel involved in this project who contributed to the story include Greg Mann, plant manager, Dennis Shepp, maintenance technician and Jim Weeks, shift supervisor and maintenance technician.

Machesney Park, Illinois – The City of Broken Arrow’s only existing water treatment plant, erected in 1966, could no longer satisfy the needs of the 35,000 homes and businesses, requiring the City to purchase water from other facilities and nearby Tulsa. In cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, a new municipal water treatment plant on the shore of the Verdigris River will provide up to 20 MGD (plant rating at 20 degrees C) of water daily to the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

The project began in early 2012 with the bid for the standby power system awarded to Cummins Southern Plains LLC, Tulsa, for the parent company based in Arlington, Texas. The project will utilize three 2 MW generators powered by Tier II emission certified Cummins 16 cylinder QSK 60 series diesel engines.

Due to the environmental and acoustic specifications of the water treatment facility, special enclosures and fuel tanks for the generator sets were required. Cummins Southern Plains LLC sales representative Mike Teague asked Hennig Enclosure Systems (Machesney Park, Illinois) to provide a possible solution. As Mike explained, “Al Grabowski from Hennig had been in contact with Cummins Southern Plains. We gave him the opportunity to quote the project and were quite pleased with the results.”

Cummins Southern Plains LLC provided the performance characteristics of the generator sets to Hennig Enclosures Systems, who then provided submittal drawings of the enclosure packages in Solid Works CAD format for the customer to review. Each enclosure measured 40’ long x 10’ wide and nearly 14’ high to allow ample airflow and provide a 25 dba sound reduction. After the customer and contractor approved the drawings, Hennig Enclosure Systems began cutting and bending steel. “Hennig is a one-stop shop. We manufacture the entire enclosure and fuel tank in addition to mounting the genset and landing all the electrical connections for the customer,” Grabowski added.

The Hennig solution involved a topcoat finish of TGIC polyester powder coat paint for weather resistance and UV protection. Grabowski notes, “Hennig utilizes a durable powder coat finish along with stainless steel hardware on every enclosure we build to meet the broad range of environmental conditions across the United States. We want our enclosures to look as good in 20 years as they do the day they were installed.”

A few weeks after the generator sets arrived at Hennig, the enclosure and fuel tank packages were ready to ship. There were some logistics challenges on this project, as the facility site was in the midst of construction. Delivery was made down a temporary dirt road and the three 2 MW Cummins emergency power generators were set in place without a hitch at the new Broken Arrow Water Treatment facility site.

The Broken Arrow municipal water treatment facility is primarily funded by loans totaling $64.8 million, administered by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The facility is being constructed by Crossland Heavy Contractors of Columbus, Kansas. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be operational in July, 2013.

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Hennig Enclosure Systems, a division of Hennig Inc., manufactures innovative enclosures and fuel tanks for standby/emergency/prime power/peak shaving generators and switchgear. Hennig enclosures are designed and built to provide environmental protection and meet today’s demanding acoustical requirements of power generation equipment. The company operates facilities in Machesney Park, IL. To learn more, visit www.hennig-enclosure-systems.com.

Whether the application involves producing/removing chips or moving parts/scrap pieces, Hennig can provide the chip conveyor for all machine tool requirements. The company’s new 2-1/2” pitch steel belt can be made for most applications in the field when the standard 1-1/2” pitch belt is not effective for the particular conditions present.

Conveyors from Hennig, a leading supplier of chip conveyors to the global machine tool market, can be manufactured in widths from 4” to 80”, depending on the need. The unique Hennig belt hinge is designed as one continuous piece, whereas many competitive brands do not have this feature. The manufacturing of these belts is done on Hennig’s in-house press equipment.

Hennig recognizes the special requirements needed when designing a parts conveyor on which direct loads contact the belt. Impact plates are just one of the many options to be considered when customizing a conveyor for these applications.

Hennig Parts Conveyor

Chip volumes can also vary between applications, so speeds and sizes are always evaluated by Hennig’s engineers. Special incline covers (top hat design) can be included when larger amounts of stringy/balled chips are to be evacuated from the machine.

As adjunct to this new 2-1/2” pitch steel belt conveyor, Hennig also offers complete filtration systems, as needed. The company’s Chip Disc Filtration (CDF) systems can also be used with the new 2-1/2” pitch conveyor. These systems can filter down to 25 microns and additional bag filters can be included to achieve the through-spindle requirements on most machine applications.

Hennig Large Conveyor

Whether the need involves moving chips into a hopper, evacuating larger volumes of chips through a plant wall into a truck/dumpster or hauling scrap parts from the machine, Hennig can assist machine builders and end users alike with any specific requirements.

Innovations and new developments in machine tool design present myriad opportunities for the engineers at Hennig (www.hennigworldwide.com), who have been designing and producing custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools for over 50 years. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants. Hennig has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany, Czech Republic, France, Brazil, India, Japan, China and South Korea. Its North American repair centers are located in Machesney Park, Ill.; Chandler, Okla.; Livonia, Mich.; Blue Ash, Ohio; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.

Hennig, Inc., Machesney Park, Ill., announces the opening of an additional facility on its 11-acre campus here, to accommodate the expanding power gen business of Hennig Enclosure Systems. This new facility is now open and houses all design, engineering, sales, marketing and manufacturing capabilities for this division of Hennig, a world leader in machine protection. Utilizing additional land area outside the new facility, Hennig will also be able to test all enclosure and fuel tank systems under full operating conditions for its customers. Load bank testing, resistance testing, airflow performance and sound level checks can all be performed in an actual outdoor environment.

In announcing this new facility, Robin Moore, Vice President of Engineering and Operations for the company, commented, “Our power gen business is ramping up substantially and we required expanded capabilities, additional staff and more capacity.” He also noted the larger work bays and four overhead cranes (two tandem 7.5 ton and two tandem 20 ton with max. 80,000-lb. lift) will complement the tank welding process, electrical assembly, enclosure assembly and a new in-house finishing department for wet paint and powder coating at this Hennig facility. The new location is conveniently located off Interstate I-90 at the recently completed Route 173 interchange for easy on/off logistics, a decided advantage in transporting the huge structures produced here.

At this new location, Hennig Enclosure Systems will produce turnkey enclosures and fuel tanks for OEM power generator customers, as well as architects, design/build firms, contractors and consulting/engineering companies who constitute its current customer base. Customers interact with the company by utilizing the network of Hennig field sales engineers and service centers, as well as the recently developed online configurator software at the company’s website.

Greg Champion, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, further noted, “Our customers will quickly benefit from the improvement in work flow and logistics provided by this new facility. Being immediately adjacent to the Hennig Global Headquarters will have many upsides for our customers and us alike.” Champion further noted Hennig now has 150 employees onsite at this combined facility, for a total of 450 worldwide.

Local Rockford, IL contractor Cord Construction completed this new facility in less than six months from the date the previous facility was acquired by Hennig in November, 2010.

Hennig Enclosure Systems will further offer a limited amount of indoor generator storage for customers at the new facility to provide additional benefit.

In addition to its work in the power generator market, Hennig, Inc. designs and produces custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants. Manufacturing facilities are located in the U.S., Germany, France, Brazil, India, Japan, China and South Korea. Repair centers are located in Machesney Park, IL; Chandler, OK; Livonia, MI; Blue Ash, OH; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.

Saves time, money and engineering through series of online selections; makes spec writing much easier

Hennig, Inc., Machesney Park, Ill., announces the immediate availability of its new online configurator for equipment builders, consulting/specifying engineers, architectural spec writers, contractors and others involved in the delivery of power generation systems. Through the use of the Hennig configurator’s computer software, integrated and fully interactive at the company website, spec writers can immediately begin the process of designing the ideal enclosure and fuel tank configurations from the Hennig offerings. Every parameter for all popular power gen unit brands have been incorporated into this unique online service by Hennig, a major supplier of enclosures and fuel tanks to the industry.

All performance and dimensional requirements are menu-selected, along with all electric, HVAC, exhaust system, roof, door and materials of construction on the enclosure. Likewise, for the sub-base diesel fuel tank, all size and accessory specs are selectable on a downloadable .xls menu for easy completion. Upon completion of the selections, a .doc is generated for the enclosure spec and another for the fuel tank.

The created specification can then be electronically submitted to Hennig for a fast and accurate quotation of price and delivery.

“Through this system, the Hennig enclosure and fuel tank are precisely matched to the generator and the particular conditions of the installation. No settling for less and no need to make a standard product ‘fit’ the requirement. It really is a useful time and money saving tool,” says Robin Moore, the Hennig vice-president for engineering and operations.

Hennig manufactures all enclosures and fuel tanks in its Rockford, Illinois facility, located approximately 90 miles northwest of Chicago. Here, experienced power gen engineers work in concert with the company’s vertically integrated metalworking, fabricating, finishing and test departments to ensure the highest quality and reliable construction of the enclosures and fuel tanks to suit the specification mandated by customers. Hennig then ships the finished units to the construction site, power gen subcontractor or other location with full guarantees of satisfaction, backed by the company’s service and after-sale assistance team.

Typical Hennig genset enclosure and fuel tank

Hennig currently builds enclosures and fuel tanks to be compatible with CAT, Cummins, Detroit Diesel (MTU Onsite Energy), Kohler and all other leading brands of power generators. The company also works with the power gen distributors, plus design/engineering firms, consulting engineering firms and all levels of the building contractor community. Spec writers at all these types of companies can utilize the new Hennig configurator to save time, money and engineering effort in the construction of gensets.

Hennig, Inc., at www.hennigworldwide.com, has been designing and producing custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools for over 50 years. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants. Hennig has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany, Czech Republic, France, Brazil, India, Japan, China and South Korea. Its North American repair centers are located in Machesney Park, Ill.; Chandler, Okla.; Livonia, Mich.; Blue Ash, Ohio; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.